New Concentrators Approved for Use on Aircraft

January 8, 2010

If your patients need a portable oxygen concentrator (POC) when they travel by aircraft, you may be interested in knowing that, effective January 6, 2010 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) added four new POCs to the list of those devices they have determined are safe to carry on the plane as long as certain other standards are met. http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/E9-31380.pdf. This action brings the total approved list to eleven devices.

New medical oxygen technologies approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in recent years have greatly reduced the risk typically associated with compressed oxygen and provide safe alternatives for passengers in need of oxygen therapy while in-flight. The FAA has been approving certain POCs as safe for airline travel since 2005.

In the future, the FAA plans to issue a proposed notice for public comment on the establishment of performance-based standards for all POCs. The AARC will monitor these activities and keep you up-to-date as necessary.  

Approved Portable Oxygen Concentrators for Use Aboard Aircarft